“When the Senate takes up a jobs bill later this month or early in February, the debate will center on whether it really will create jobs and be worth plunging the government tens of billions of dollars further into debt.

Republicans scoff at the “Jobs for Main Street Act” title that House Democrats put on their $174 billion package last month. They refer to it as “son of the stimulus,” the $787 billion economic recovery plan of nearly a year ago that they say was ineffective at producing jobs.”

How does the old saying go? “Repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity”, or something like that?

Well, that’s exactly what this is. Are there any sane people left in the world? Does anybody remember when they told us that the stimulus package would stop unemployment at eight percent? That didn’t happen, did it? Our government has turned into a remake of the scene from the Steve Martin classic “The Jerk”. You know, the part where he says, “I have this remote control and that’s all I need!”
However, instead of a remote control, our government says that all it needs is just another $174 billion in borrowed/printed money.

Somebody stop the world and let those of us with math skills off, please.

It is beyond obvious at this point that capitalism has been completely scrapped in favor of cracking open Monopoly boxes and handing out money. Anybody with even a rudimentary education in economics and history will tell you that this is completely counterproductive to our free market system, and that it is in fact our free market system that has made America the most powerful and prosperous nation in the history of mankind.

Jobs cannot be created by handing out money arbitrarily. For an economy to remain strong, money most circulate, and that circulation must be spurred by demand. The best way to create demand is by cutting taxes, which would by definition necessitate a cut in government spending. (Agreed, this is a pipe dream, but it is what should happen.)

When you strip away all of the econo-speak, our system is fairly simple. It basically works like this:

Essentially, when money is given back to consumers, “consumption” increases. When consumption increases, demand increases. When demand increases, businesses must expand to meet the demand, and when businesses expand, that means jobs. Real jobs. The kind of jobs that the market sustains on its own, and not the kind of overpriced, phony “shovel ready” job that only lasts a few weeks because there is no demand for what they supposedly produce, and consequently disappear because the artificially created money runs out.

It’s a proven system, and it has worked every single time it’s tried. Yet there are some in positions of power who seem convinced that a government-controlled economy is better, despite all of the historical evidence to the contrary.

Perhaps we should coin a new phrase:

You can send politicians to Washington, but you can’t make them think.

by Art Lindsey III

President Obama declared Wednesday night on ABC News that without healthcare reform the federal government would go bankrupt.

“If we don’t pass it, here’s the guarantee: the people who are watching tonight, your premiums will go up, your employers are going to load up more costs on you. Potentially they’re going to drop your coverage, because they just can’t afford an increase of 25 percent, 30 percent in terms of the costs of providing health care to employees each and every year. “And the federal government will go bankrupt.”

Well, I’ve got news for the president and everybody else out there who hasn’t been paying attention:

The federal government is bankrupt. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have to keep mortgaging our future to China and amassing a debt which has ballooned to an amount in the double-digit trillions. When you couple that with the printing rampage we’ve been on, how is it that anybody can say we will run out of money when we obviously already have? The motto of our government seems to be “Spend all you want, we’ll make more”.

Frankly, this has become a rather tiresome ruse. The idea that government knows anything about making or keeping businesses competitive is laughable. There isn’t a business on the planet that can compete with the federal government when it comes to resources.

Notice that “resources” is the key. No one is talking about quality, here. Everyone knows that the government is an inefficient, bumbling mess, no matter who is in charge, and it clearly doesn’t have to turn a profit. That alone makes it an unstoppable juggernaut. Businesses must turn a profit to survive. If they don’t, they go away. (Well, they used to before all the bailout junk started, but you get the idea.) The government seemly operates above all concepts of economics and logic, so in reality, President Obama’s argument is nothing short of a joke.

This whole discussion is rife with myths. Yes, there is a lot of money tied up in the medical insurance industry. But the truth is that people always look at the wrong number. While the large, zero-laden numbers look good at the end of the day, they don’t really mean anything. The number that everybody seems to ignore when they decide to demonize a particular business is that of the profit margin.

Now, in case you don’t know, the profit margin or the medical insurance industry is about two percent. Knowing that, there is no way an unbiased observer of the situation could accuse the medical insurance industry of being anti-competitive. A two percent profit margin would just be barely keeping one’s head above water.

If the federal government was so into competition in business why doesn’t it do more to relieve the financial burdens on businesses, like slashing our inflated corporate tax, and/or eliminating the capital gains tax? Furthermore, in the case of health care, why can’t our health policies be made portable, and why Americans buy a policy in any state that they choose? This would drastically expand every company’s potential client pool, and because of that, logic dictates that prices will come down. This is a basic component of our market economy. However, it has become quite clear that our government has no interest in that.

Isn’t it interesting how the Obama administration constantly touts job creation, yet it is hell-bent on interfering with an industry which makes up about one-sixth of our economy? Health care insurance providers will be unable to compete with a bureaucratic monolith that can continually give itself a blank check with which to operate. The private companies will fail, which will put many people out of work. Wait a minute. What about all that ‘job creation’ that Obama is so good at? Perhaps the only ones that really count in his mind are handful of prison guard jobs that will be created when he moves the Gitmo detainees to Illinois. Who knows at this point?

Continuing on, when you put a lot of people out of work, a domino-effect begins. They have to file for unemployment, which is funded by taxpayers. However, that’s just a tiny part of it. The real damage begins when the reality of this program begins to take hold. Providing quality, universal healthcare for a nation of over 300 million people is a financial impossibility, especially when you factor in our government’s penchant for waste. The tax burden required to feed the beast will balloon out of control, and the end result will be that corporations and workers will be so badly shackled by the government that the drive to produce will be lost. If such a thing ever happens, its game over, people. Welcome to the collapse of the United States of America.

All of that aside, the true answer to this manufactured “crisis” is personal responsibility. The fact is that most of the uninsured could obtain a health insurance policy at a reasonable price if they wanted to. Quality policies are available at prices less than $100 a month, and can be shopped for and purchased online as we speak. While it is true that the American health industry could be streamlined, the government certainly has no clue how to do it. Furthermore, the true hindrance in the situation isn’t the providers. It’s the Americans who are too irresponsible to take care of themselves.

Until that changes, nothing good will happen.

So, here we are on the verge of a national health care system. It’s the subject that has dominated the news cycle and been at the heart of nearly every political debate in America since Barack Obama decided to make it the centerpiece of his 2008 presidential campaign.

We’ve been preoccupied with the indications of rationing, not to mention the unsustainable budgetary numbers of it all. Honestly, with all this data being thrown about, one can be certain that it’s nearly impossible for everyday Americans to even begin to take the time to grasp it all.

However, that notwithstanding, from what Americans have been able to grasp just enough of what’s going on as congress attempts to slip this under our collective noses, and the consensus seems to be pretty clear:

Americans do not want socialized medicine.

Now, there is no point in going on and on at this point about congress not listening to us or some such thing. There is no lesson to be learned there, as it is fairly obvious at this point. Truth be told, we should be pointing the finger at ourselves.

Think back to the 2006 midterms, where the rallying cry across the conservative voting landscape was, “Throw the Republicans out! Teach them a lesson!”

Of course, considering how much of the GOP had softened on conservative principles, it is understandable how this sentiment could take hold. Every day, it seemed as though another conservative luminary just couldn’t wait to bash the GOP, deservedly or not, and say what a boon it would be for the party and the conservative movement if the Republicans lost in November of 2006.

As I just said, I can understand that line of thinking. I’m just as much for true conservatism in the Republican Party as anybody else, but in every conversation I ever had on the notion of the GOP losing its majority in ’06, I kept coming back to one simple mantra:

You can’t teach a “lesson” to career politicians. These people are like cats. They always land on their feet. If you boot them out, they’ll find a cushy analyst job on a cable network or go on a book or speaking tour, where they can make even more money than they already do.

So, knowing that we had a Democrat Party that is as close to socialist as America has, or is likely to ever see, it was clear to this conservative that while it sure sounded good to spend election day smacking around Republicans, we would be the ones who would pay a very steep price for the lesson that we intended to teach.

As we all know, voters got what they wished for, and the GOP lost by sizeable margins, and as I had feared, our economy, our healthcare system, and our defense efforts are now on death’s doorstep. Meanwhile, despite what we want, politicians from both parties continue to ignore us, and charge on with their own agendas.

The American electorate needs to learn that elections matter. It needs to turn off American Idol pay attention, and say informed. This is what happens when it doesn’t.

If anything, our last two elections should teach a lesson to the American people. Politicians will always be politicians. They’ll look out for themselves before they ever look out for any of us. The only defense we have is to do our best to educate ourselves, and hopefully pick the ones best suited for upholding our ideas and traditions. In order to do that, we must remain engaged at all costs.

Maybe it will be better in the long run for the conservative movement when this is all said and done. Many of us, me included, certainly hope that it is. But, with a government apparatus that is moving America away from its founding principles faster than any time in history, the burden American electorate unwittingly placed on itself may prove to be too much to bear, and the “lesson” that some thought they were so wisely teaching may be nothing more than a prime example of “Too little, too late”.

Let’s hope not.

This economy is hard. People are getting laid off every day. But pharmaceutical giant Pfizer wants to help raise your spirits. Ahem.

Pfizer will provide more than 70 prescription drugs, from Lipitor to Viagra, at no cost to unemployed, uninsured Americans.

People who lost jobs since Jan. 1 and have been on Pfizer drugs for three months or more are eligible.

That will be wonderful news for people who have fallen on hard times, and will provide a real boost to their marketing at Pfizer at the same time.

All jokes aside (really, I promise), one could argue that there’s a great economic incentive to do this. President Obama has already spent over a trillion bucks, and America will collapse in a generation if we don’t start shoring up the coffers once more. Immigration is one way to get more taxpayers, but the problem of illegal Mexican workers almost negates the good being done by legal immigration.

America is one of the only Western countries (I think it’s the only one, but I’d have to double check with Mark Steyn or someone who actually knows about demography) with a sustainable birthrate - and it’s right on the line. If it falls further, we will go the way of Europe, which will not exist as we know it in 50 years. So let’s make sure people are having lots of sex, and we can (maybe) get another generation of dutiful taxpayers to pay for the Obama spending spree.

Oh, I know the downside. If people are struggling economically, and the government is funneling millions into organizations like Planned Parenthood, it will be all too easy for all this Pfizer Pfucking to lead to naught. But the potential remains, and that’s kinda cool. Too bad Pfizer doesn’t make diapers - now that would be encouraging to get for free!

I haven’t completely worked out the details on this yet, but hear me out:

You get sick, maybe a throat infection. Nothing overly serious, but terribly, terribly uncomfortable. Your life is miserable. So you go running to the doctor who prescribes strong antibiotics. You take the antibiotics, the throat infection goes away. Yay. But there are side effects: You get a yeast infection. You gain 5lbs. And the next time you get sick, it’s ten times worse than it was the first time. In fact, your body will no longer react to the same antibiotic, because the problem is now bigger than before. You suffer terribly, for a long time, wishing you had just rode it out the first time.

Ok…

Your bank lends money to deadbeats. The deadbeats don’t pay it back, leading to a financial backlash and low markets. You might lose your job in the weakened economy. You may lose your house. Your life is miserable. So you go running to the government, who prescribes a strong bailout. You approve the bailout, take the money. Yay. But there are side effects: Your taxes go up considerably. It’s a false economy. The bank continues to lend money to deadbeats. There can be no more bailouts because the government is out of money and is in deficit spending. The problem is bigger than before. You suffer terribly, for a long, long time, wishing you had just rode it out the first time.

Ontario is slapping fees on TVs and computers to increase the recycling of electronics in the first phase of a program that will eventually see similar fees apply to nearly all other electronic products.

Today, Environment Minister John Gerretsen is signing a regulation that puts in place a recycling program, including per item fees, for all televisions and computers sold in Ontario. Producers and importers will have to start paying the fees, including $10 for TVs and $2 to $13 for computers, beginning April 1, 2009.

No prob. My computer and TV are less than a year old, so I won’t be replacing them right away. And when I do, I will make sure I do so in Quebec or upstate New York. Probably New york, since their taxes are already considerably lower than what we pay here.

Amazing, the lengths government will go to in order to slow our economy in the name of a socialist ideal.

As always happens during discussions about personal responsibility.

Stacy has come down squarely on the banks in the issue of the U.S. mortgage crisis.

Being self-employed for many years; having employee after employee after employee after employee through these years . . . things happen. Phone calls from their debtors asking me for assistance in collecting a debt. My response has evolved from passing on the phone message to now me stating, “Look, you’ve seen their credit report, you knew what their salary was, and you chose to give them credit anyway. Seems to me that you’re having to lie in the bed you made.”

This is kind of a touchy subject with me, because I am one of those po’ folks who should not be given credit. And to make matters worse, I recently lost my job. Sweet, huh? In my case, I can’t actually blame the banks, because unlike some of the uneducated Mexicans and whatnot, I was fully aware of what I was doing, and the consequences of my actions. But yeah, I guess a lot of people can blame the banks - immigrants, the terminally poor… why get their hopes up with a mortgage, only to foreclose on their house in a couple of years. Better just to turn them away, no?

With Canadian book retailers not dropping their prices to reflect the higher Canadian dollar (yesterday it was $1.04US), my impromptu trip south of the border is fortuitous indeed. My strong dollar will allow me to pick up a stack of titles which back at home would cost me more than 40% more.

And an editorial in Today’s Star (of all places) is right here with me:

In a bid to keep consumer anger from ricocheting onto the government, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty summoned the Retail Council of Canada to Ottawa to stress he wanted to see prices reduced to reflect the soaring dollar. What Flaherty got in response was a long list of excuses why Canadian prices must be higher than in the U.S. After failing to get any movement from retailers, the only thing Flaherty could tell buyers was “to shop around and look for discounts. It’s important for people to realize there is power to shopping around.”

As gratuitous as that advice might sound, it contains much truth. It is consumers who determine which businesses prosper and which ones fail. It was shoppers who forced Eaton’s to close its doors for good. And just yesterday, Sears Canada Inc., one of the country’s largest retailers, blamed cross-border shopping for part of a 2.9 per cent drop in sales in its last quarter, which ended Sept. 29.

Consumers don’t need Flaherty to tell them they can often get American prices on the Internet, or by driving to Buffalo. And where price discrepancies are big enough, that is what they will do.

As an aside, I’m surprised that the Star is touting the market-driven economy. It’s not like them to support the consumer in his choices. Oh well, maybe it’s a guest editor.

It’s Thanksgiving in Canada (Hey, we killed Indians, too, dammit, and we want our turkey day! Why should those pesky Yanks have all the fun?), so I thought it might be nice to do a quick roundup of things we should be thankful for.

The Canadian dollar closed at $1.02 US on Friday. It’s been 33 years since we reached parity or above - I wasn’t even born the last time!

The Canadian jobless rate is at a 33-year low low of 5.9%.

The surge is working, whether Pelosi & Co. like it or not.

The so-called surge has emboldened Iraqis, who now are showing unprecedented cooperation with American troops in an effort to rid their neighborhoods of dangerous madmen.

The US economy added 110,000 more jobs in September, after adding 89,000 in August. Damn that George Bush - he keeps pulling the rug out under the naysayers!

“It certainly doesn’t look like an economy that’s losing momentum,” said John Ryding, chief U.S. economist at Bear Stearns Cos. in New York.

So while I might be a Negative Nancy much of the time on this blog, I thought today was a good chance to point out a few things that are benefiting us. Things we should be thankful for. Feel free to add more in the comments.